Andean Emerald (Uranomitra franciae)

Identification & Behavior: ~10 cm (4 in). The male Andean Emerald has a green back and upper side of the tail. The head is mostly blue in the male. The throat, breast, belly and undertail coverts are snowy white with green on the sides of the breast and belly. The female is similar to the male but mostly lacks the blue on top of the head. The tail is notched. The bill is nearly straight with a black culmen and red mandible. It is superficially similar to the White-bellied Hummingbird, but these two species are not known to overlap.

Status: The Andean Emerald is fairly common in scrub and other dry habitats along the Marañon Drainage at elevations ranging between 400-2750 m. It also occurs in semi-humid habitats in extreme northwest Peru in Tumbes and in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Colibrí Andino.

Sub-species: Andean Emerald (Uranomitra franciae viridiceps), Gould, 1860. SW Colombia (Nariño) and W Ecuador and NW Peru in Tumbes.
(Uranomitra franciae cyanocollis), Gould, 1853. Andes of SE Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe) and N Peru (Marañón Valley S to E La Libertad).

Meaning of Name: Uranomitra: Gr. Ouranos= heaven, sky; mitra= diadem, head-band. franciae: In honor of Francia Bourcier daughter of French diplomat and trochilidist Claude-Marie Jules Bourcier.

Formerly known as Amazilia franciae (2019.

See more of the Family Trochilidae